Thursday, 31 December 2015

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue #11

Unknown shrub, Heaton Chapel

You know, I've never understood why Luscious Jackson didn't make it as big as I thought they were going to. They had all the best qualities of indie, punk and hip hop at a time when you'd have thought that would be A Good Thing.

Natural Ingredients, which was released on the Beastie Boys label, Grand Royale, was the follow up to the 1993 mini album In Search of Manny, which is still worth a listen. 'Energy Sucker' has a certain

up yours kind of swaggery attitude to it that I really like. And it doesn't seem to have dated at all.

Pins, from Manchester, released their second album in summer 2015. 'Young Girls' was the leading single from it and saw the band taking a slightly more melodic, less garage route than on their previous album.

As the marking of the centenary of World War I continues, it felt only right to acknowledge it with Laura Cantrell's lovely take on 'When The Roses Bloom Again', a poignant folk take on those parted by war.

I saw Laura Cantrell in Manchester back in 2003, when she was touring with Paul Burch. The gig had a fantastically friendly atmosphere and Laura and Paul hung out by the merch stall afterwards, signing CD's.

Toussaint McCall's 'Nothing Takes The Place Of You' will be familiar to anyone who has seen the original 1980s film version of Hairspray. It is a timeless soul classic.

About Me

I am a freelance writer/journalist and blogger with a background in music journalism and feminist criticism and an interest in British social history.
I worked for two and a half years as Music Review Editor at the UK feminist website The F-Word, freelanced for two years at Record Collector magazine, and have appeared as a guest speaker at a number of venues, including the Stuart Hall library at INIVA in London, Vivid Projects in Birmingham and the Working Class Movement Library in Salford. I also have fifteen years experience as a fanzine writer/editor.